Even those most upbeat about the nation’s ability to recover from a decade of disastrous economic policies concede that things will probably get worse before they improve.

Unemployment could top nine percent by next year, some economists predict. And it seems inevitable that more people will lose their homes or be evicted as a result. Without a public intervention, many of Illinois’ most vulnerable families could soon fall deeper into poverty.

Last week, Housing Action Illinois released a report which found that during "December 2008, 71% of state-funded providers of overnight and transitional shelter reported serving an increased number of people experiencing homelessness compared to six months previous."  The advocacy group is now pushing a plan put forth by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) to stem the ongoing spike in homelessness both here in Illinois and across the nation.

The CBPP proposal (PDF) recommends that Congress include measures to fund affordable housing and housing shelters via the stimulus package.  By setting aside merely a fraction of the overall $825 billion package, the National Housing Trust Fund could be bolstered by $10 billion, housing vouchers could be extended to 400,000 additional families over the next two years and an additional $2 billion dollars could be pumped into the Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) program, preventing homelessness for tens of thousands of families.

Here’s how Illinois alone would stand to benefit from such an investment:

- 8,622 new family housing vouchers would be created;
- $95 million worth of Emergency Shelter Grants disbursed;
- Counseling and short-term housing aid extended to 18,644 households.

Thus far, ESG is the only program slated for stimulus money -- to the tune of $1.5 billion. But Housing Action policy director Bob Palmer said in a statement last Thursday that this won’t provide nearly enough relief to an already over-taxed system: “Housing Choice Vouchers are really needed to create more stable housing options for vulnerable households."

CBPP points out that the vouchers would help bolster the housing sector in relatively short order:

In addition to the immediate and long-term benefits of preventing homelessness and ensuring housing stability, the new vouchers would begin to inject funds into local economies within four to six months after enactment, with an impact on the weak housing sector. And families receiving vouchers that currently are spending most of their income on rent would be able to spend more on food, clothing, health care, and other necessities, boosting total household consumption.

Sounds like an investment we can’t afford not to make.

Image used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user scribbletaylor.